<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>a compendium of natural herbs and medicines and how to use them by nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23932852">a compendium of natural herbs and medicines and how to use them</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife'>nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dimension 20 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dimension 20 (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Campaign: A Crown of Candy, Canon compliant for now, Complicated Relationships, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Introspection, Light Angst, Pre-Canon, other characters mentioned/make short appearances but not enough to tag</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:15:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,105</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23932852</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ironically, for a person made of peppermint, when Liam arrives at Castle Candy for the first time, he’s cold.<br/>It’s not the cold of his home, biting and a clean, fresh kind of cold. Liam looks up at the towering castle, and feels a hollowness, like a cavern in his ribs. The cold he feels is empty and gaping and it makes him hold Preston closer to his chest. Preston snuggles in with a squeak.<br/>He’s glad he decided to bring his survival pack, even though the knight that brought him here, Sir Theobald, had assured him that everything he needed would be provided.</p><p>It wouldn’t be the same.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Theobald Gumbar &amp; Liam Wilhelmina</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>dimension 20 [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1706107</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a compendium of natural herbs and medicines and how to use them</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>you ever think about liam's situation and be sad? yeah. but at least he has theo's big dad energy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ironically, for a person made of peppermint, when Liam arrives at Castle Candy for the first time, he’s cold.</p><p>It’s not the cold of his home, biting and a clean, fresh kind of cold. Liam looks up at the towering castle, and feels a hollowness, like a cavern in his ribs. The cold he feels is empty and gaping and it makes him hold Preston closer to his chest. Preston snuggles in with a squeak.</p><p>He’s glad he decided to bring his survival pack, even though the knight that brought him here, Sir Theobald, had assured him that everything he needed would be provided.</p><p>It wouldn’t be the same.</p><p>Sir Theobald leads him into the castle and shows him his room. It’s in the same wing as the King and Queen and Princesses, his cousins, and it’s- rich. Nothing like the compound at home. Or, Liam supposes, what the compound could look like, if they were in open rebellion against the Concord, or whatever.</p><p>Liam doesn’t know how he feels about it.</p><p>Sir Theobald offers to have Preston housed down in the stables and Liam blurts out a panicked “No!” before he thinks better of it. </p><p>“No, uh, no we’re- I’m uh, I’m good… up <em> here…</em>”</p><p>He cringes for a second, remembering his brothers whacking him upside the head whenever he’d say something stupid. Or something they didn’t like. Or something they didn’t understand. So, whenever he said anything, really.</p><p>But Sir Theobald just rests a giant paw on his shoulder and tells him to make sure Preston doesn’t leave behind a mess.</p><p>Liam nods, and Sir Theobald tells him that the Queen is sorry she couldn’t be here to greet him herself, but she became tied up in court matters. That she hopes to welcome him in person at the feast later. Liam quietly begins to panic at the prospect of a feast, although he wonders if maybe he’ll meet other people his age. Maybe even make some friends. Friends would be nice. Maybe the feast will be fun?</p><p>Theobald leaves, with a final, “Make yourself at home, Master Liam.”</p><p>And Liam is left alone, Preston a comforting weight in his arms.</p><p> </p><p>The feast is later that evening, and Liam is walking in what he’s pretty sure is the general direction of the feast-hall, given the sound, but nobody has actually shown him around the castle yet- was he supposed to ask about that? but he’s not sure who he’d ask, anyway. Sir Theobald, maybe, but Liam doesn’t know he lives.</p><p>Liam makes it to the feast, thankfully on time, and slips into an empty seat. A few people notice him, but he ignores the staring. It was the same when he left home.</p><p>Liam mostly makes it through the feast unscathed. Queen Caramelinda comes down and introduces herself, and an hour into the feast the King and the Princesses come down, and Liam is a little worried because the Queen gets this <em> look </em> on her face as they come in, but she’s probably not mad at him? Right? Maybe he should move away a little. Just in case.</p><p>And Liam meets his cousins. King Amethar, son of the Alliance Breaker. If Grash and the others have their way, the person Liam is supposed to kill.</p><p>He’s not going to, though, he thinks. Aside from the fact that King Amethar is literally called the Unfallen, Liam doesn’t actually… have a problem with him.</p><p>Granted, the stuff with the Dairy Islands wasn’t great, but that was his dad, and Liam is more aware than most people of just how different fathers and sons can turn out. </p><p>Then there’s the princesses. They’re both sixteen, and they take one look at him before whispering together in a language he doesn’t understand.</p><p>A few minutes later, Jet leans over to him.</p><p>“So, what do you like?”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“To do! Do you know how to fight? Or sing opera? Ruby is going to be an opera singer. She’s gonna be the best opera singer in Calorum!”</p><p>Ruby pokes her head next to Jet’s and whispers, “<em>Have you ever been to Dulcington? </em>”</p><p>Liam blinks for a second, and pets Preston. “Uh. No… I used to live up in the Rock Candy Mountains? And, well, I like seeds. Collecting them, I mean. And I uh, I go on hikes, and sometimes I’ll find these cool leaves…”</p><p>Liam trails off when Jet clearly tunes out and turns back to Ruby. His expectations weren’t high, but… he’d hoped, maybe, being in a new place, he could make some friends. <em> A </em> friend, really. But it’s fine. He has Preston. </p><p>He sneaks Preston some cotton candy from the table, and soft, contented squeaking emerges from underneath his chair. Thankfully no one notices.</p><p> </p><p>Liam has been at Castle Candy for two weeks, and he’s slowly starting to develop a routine. He doesn’t actually have a purpose, here. Nothing to do. Queen Caramelinda offered to let him sit in with the Princess’s lessons, so he tries it a couple times.</p><p>But Lapin’s voice is just too easy to fall asleep to, and he already knows most of it anyway, and nobody stops him when he just stops going. Ruby and Jet shoot him a few dirty looks though, but then they go back to plotting their next escape.</p><p>He would hang out with Jet and Ruby, but they’re a year older than him and already so close, and they don’t have anything in common with him really, and he’s never been good at talking to people.</p><p>So. Liam has a routine. He wakes up early, more out of habit than choice, and takes Preston on a walk around the castle. This is partly to give Preston a chance to stretch his legs, partly to learn the layout of his new home. Residence? Place he’s staying for the foreseeable future. However long that is.</p><p>He takes Preston on a walk until they get tired, and then he makes his way to the kitchen for food, which he isn’t actually sure is allowed, but nobody yelled at him when he did it the first time, so. Snacks.</p><p>Then he reads. Sometimes in the library, but not often, the austereness of it making him uncomfortable, and usually there’s other people in there which is also uncomfortable. More often, he makes his way to the training grounds of Sir Theobald and the Tart Guard, and reads under a tree. This is most of his day until dinner, after which he usually just goes to sleep. Life as a hostage, sorry, a <em>ward</em>, is surprisingly boring.</p><p> </p><p>One day, about a month after Liam arrives, he watches Sir Theobald train after finishing his book and works up the courage to go up to him.</p><p>“Uh, Sir Theobald? Can I uh, ask you a question?”</p><p>He blinks in surprise, and then sheathes his sword.</p><p>“Of course Master Liam. What do you need?”</p><p>“Oh, I uh. It’s just. I was wondering, could I ah, maybe go on a hike? Just in the woods around the castle, not too far, it’s just there isn’t a lot to <em> do </em> here…”</p><p>Theobald looks at him approvingly.</p><p>“Thank you for asking <em> permission</em>, Master Liam. Yes, you may feel free to hike whenever you wish, just, leave a note or something.”</p><p>Liam smiles widely at the thought of finding new seeds, and he darts forward to give Sir Theobald a hug before he can think better of it. He starts sprinting to go wake up Preston so they can get a few hours of exploring in before the sun sets. </p><p>“Thanks Sir Theobald!” he yells back as he runs.</p><p> </p><p>The next few months are actually… nice. Liam is still a prisoner, but they really do give him anything he needs, and he can just leave notes for Sir Theo whenever he goes out, although after Jet stole his note and got a bunch of Tart Guard all upset about his absence as a cover for her and Ruby’s run to Dulcington, Theobald advised him to make the notes bigger. And more obvious. But Liam doesn’t mind.</p><p>Sir Theo even starts to ask him about his day, whenever they’re both down in the training ground, and it’s nice, having a person to talk about his day with, even if there isn’t much to say and Theobald doesn’t totally get his thing with seeds.</p><p>But Theo never actually says anything about it, and the first time Liam druidcrafts one of them into blooming, Theobald holds the delicate flower gently in his paw before lying it down on the bench for safekeeping.</p><p>He thanks Liam with a sincerity Liam isn’t sure is warranted, but it’s <em> nice</em>, having a friend, so he makes a habit of giving Theobald druidcrafted plants.</p><p> </p><p>Before he realizes it, it’s the 24th of Brightdusk and Liam is sixteen. It’s weird, not being woken up early by his brothers for birthday teasing, but also sort of nice. But also kind of lonely. In a weird way.</p><p>Liam scoops up Preston and heads out to the woods. They’ve mostly mapped the castle by now, and they drop notes for Theo along the way as they leave.</p><p>The woods are cool, and the scent of peppermint from the trees reminds him of home.</p><p>He sets Preston down to let him snuffle for seeds, and daydreams as he follows his friend through the woods. It’s sort of a lonely way to spend a birthday, but the air is fresh and the sky is clear, and Liam has always felt most himself in the wilderness anyway.</p><p>Thankfully, King Amethar is out of the castle with the princesses, or Liam thinks he would’ve insisted on a huge party for his birthday. Which, Liam wouldn’t <em> hate</em>, but at the same time, it would be weird, celebrating with a bunch of strangers from the Court and the Princesses, who he doesn’t even hang out with anyway. But also maybe it would’ve been nice. Liam stops thinking about it.</p><p>Queen Caramelinda is busy, though she sends him a note wishing him a happy Saint’s Day.</p><p>There isn’t anyone who’s going to make a big deal out of him being sixteen. Although maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to have a party. He does miss having company around all the time. But then…</p><p>Liam doesn’t know.</p><p>So he heads down to the Training Grounds.</p><p>Sir Theo is there, even though Liam is pretty sure he doesn’t have to be. Sir Theo is almost always there, if he’s not on patrol around the castle, or on a mission with other knights, or whatever other stuff a Lord Commander does.</p><p>As Liam enters, Sir Theo notices him and waves him over.</p><p>“Ah, Master Liam! I was hoping to catch you today. I was told it’s your Saint’s Day?”</p><p>Oh yeah. Liam forgot they called it that here. He nods awkwardly, and hugs Preston, who squeaks supportively.</p><p>Theobald nods decisively, and motions for Liam to follow him.</p><p>“I know you like seeds, so I picked something up for you. I hope that you’ll find it interesting, at least. From what I could understand, it seems like something you’ll enjoy. You may have noticed I’m not much of a <em> seeds </em> guy.”</p><p>Theo leads him to what Liam realizes must be his chambers. Liam hovers awkwardly in the doorway as Theobald picks up a worn looking book.</p><p>Theobald hands it to him, and Liam reads the title: <em> A Compendium of Natural Herbs And Medicines and How To Use Them. </em></p><p>Theo rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “This book is technically banned by the Concord, mostly because it includes some… <em> less than mundane </em> uses for a lot of the herbs it includes,” he says.</p><p>It’s a heavy book, and when Liam opens it up, the text is tiny. He flips through a few pages, and realizes just how detailed it is. Most of what he knows about survival comes from taste testing trial and error with Preston and his mom’s knowledge of the Sweetening Path.</p><p>Liam beams up at Theobald.</p><p>“Thank you so much, this is awesome, look at the illustrations on page 78, I had no idea those sorts of stems existed…!”</p><p>Liam rambles as he flips through the book for a few minutes, and Theobald listens attentively, even asking a few questions here and there, mostly about herbs Liam knows are common in field medicine.</p><p>It’s the best birthday Liam’s had in… a long time, and as he and Preston head up to bed, he holds <em>A Compendium of Natural Herbs And Medicines and How To Use Them </em> tightly to his chest.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>- liam using "birthday" while the rest of castle candy's residents used "saint's day" was a specific choice. i think in a more rebel state, while bulbian worship probably isn't banned (hello blatant hypocrisy), it's more in the minority, and so most people may not refer to a saint's day out of habit and/or principle. also i just wanted to add a little cultural difference between liam and the other candians. as a treat<br/>- liam switches between "sir theobald" at the beginning, "sir theo" and then just "theo" as he gets to know him better.<br/>- how does medieval castle life work? no fucking clue my dude i did my best. no i didn't specify where theo lives because fuck if i know<br/>- theo gets emotional about the druidcrafted flower because it's been a while since he's seen someone just casually use magic for something so mundanely beautiful and he's thinking how lazuli would have loved liam. because they're all FAMILY<br/>- the in canon reason for liam's 20+ nature check to help heal the king is this book, in my headcanon</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>